Gandhi portraits: India, Hungary seek Unesco tag
New Delhi
It was January 8, 1934, and Mahatma Gandhi had granted young Hungarian artist Elizabeth Brunner exactly 15 minutes. Brunner, undeterred by the Mahatma's scepticism about portrait painting, began sketching his downward gaze—capturing not just his weathered features but what she saw as his inner spirit.
That brief encounter, which Gandhi would later sign and treasure, now anchors an ambitious cultural preservation effort. India and Hungary are jointly seeking UNESCO's prestigious Memory of the World status for Brunner's remarkable collection of over 2,000 portraits documenting India's independence era, officials at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts announced.
The bid runs parallel to a separate joint application with Nepal to inscribe Emperor Ashoka's ancient stone edicts
Brunner's path to that fateful veranda began with dreams—literally. Driven by recurring visions of Rabindranath Tagore, she arrived in India from Hungary in 1929 with her artist mother, Elizabeth Sass Brunner. Financial hardship and bureaucratic hostility nearly forced their deportation, but refuge came at Tagore's Santiniketan under master artist Nandalal Bose.
There, Brunner developed what would become her signature gift: an ability to perceive and capture her subjects' inner essence. Tagore himself, moved by her early work, became her first major Indian subject, granting her unprecedented access. It was encouragement from one of Gandhi's close aides, impressed by her Bombay exhibition, that eventually led her to the Mahatma's veranda.
What began as reluctant cooperation evolved into profound collaboration. Brunner's portfolio became a visual chronicle of modern India's founding generation: Tagore in contemplation, a gesticulating Jawaharlal Nehru, a young and intense Indira Gandhi, the regal Maharani Gayatri Devi, and the serene Dalai Lama.
'She didn't just paint faces; she painted presence,' the IGNCA official explained. 'There's a depth to her work—she sought the spirit within the person.'
Her portraits were encounters rendered in charcoal and paint, informed by her unique position as an outsider who had embraced India as her 'homeland-to-be.' Her 1962 return to Gandhi's image, now housed in the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya's reserve collection, bears her handwritten inscription echoing his philosophy: 'Let us have the courage and determination to stand together and do our very best in this time of need.'
The IGNCA, guardian of Brunner's legacy, holds over 800 meticulously preserved and digitised works from the collection, which officials describe as having 'outstanding universal significance' for embodying a unique cultural dialogue between Europe and Asia during a transformative historical period.
The UNESCO campaign
The path to UNESCO recognition, targeting 2026, demands extensive documentation. Applications must demonstrate global impact, rarity, integrity, and lasting relevance through precise historical records, rigorous preservation plans addressing threats like decay, concrete strategies for public access (bolstered by existing digitization efforts), solid legal custody documentation, and thorough stakeholder consultation.
India has had recent success: the April 2025 inscription of Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra manuscripts brought the country's total Memory of the World inscriptions to fourteen. IGNCA recently convened scholars and UNESCO experts to refine dossiers for both the Brunner Collection and Ashokan edicts applications.
The parallel nominations represent different but complementary aspects of India's cultural legacy. Ashoka's stone edicts, carved millennia ago, preach peace and moral governance. Brunner's charcoal portraits, drawn during the struggle for independence, capture the human faces behind the ideals of modern India's founding.
'The edicts speak of statecraft; the portraits breathe the human struggle,' the IGNCA official observed. Both legacies, deeply woven into India's identity and its message to humanity, now seek acknowledgment in the world's shared memory.
The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, established in 1992, preserves documentary heritage of outstanding value to humanity. If successful, the Brunner Collection would join an elite list of cultural treasures, ensuring global recognition and protection for an extraordinary artistic testament to one of history's most significant independence movements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
3 hours ago
- First Post
Air India crash: Black box heavily damaged, India to send it to US to recover data
Indian authorities will be sending the damaged black box of the doomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the US National Safety Transport Board (NTSB) for further investigation into the Air India plane crash read more As the probe into the Air India plane crash continues, India will be sending the black box of the doomed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to the United States for analysis. The recorder, which was found two days after the crash, sustained heavy external damage, making it impossible to extract data in India, a source close to the matter told The Economic Times. The source mentioned that the data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) will be extracted in the Washington-based laboratory of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the findings will be shared with India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). It is pertinent to note that under international rules, the state of occurrence has the responsibility of investigating a crash. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in Delhi last year, it is yet to be properly equipped to extract data from recorders which have sustained heavy damage. The NTSB team will carry them to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure that proper protocols are followed,' a person involved in the process told ET. UK to join the investigation Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch will also be part of the investigation, as there were 53 British citizens among those killed. The Air India aircraft bound for London from Ahmedabad crashed seconds after it took off, killing 241 people onboard, with just one survivor. The plane hit the BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar, killing 33 people on the ground. It is pertinent to note that a black box comprises two units : the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). It is painted in a bright orange colour that is designed to survive the least impact during a crash. However, heavy damage is common due to the impact of the crash or the fire that follows. Data extracted from an aircraft's black boxes is important during an investigation to find the cause of the crash. The flight data recorder will give insight into multiple technical parameters such as timing, altitude and airspeed. The source told ET that the time to extract the data from the recorder could range from two days to months, depending on the extent of damage. 'Since the recorder has been damaged, the chip will need to be extracted by removing the memory board so that there is no further damage to the data. The electronic circuit will also have to be assessed for damage,' the source told ET. Meanwhile, authorities have also begun inspecting and carrying out additional maintenance and checks of Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to prevent any future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet. The plane that was involved in the crash was 12 years old. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Boeing aircraft have been plagued by safety issues in the past. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. However, it is pertinent to note that this was the first deadly crash a Dreamliner was involved in during its 16 years of operation. With inputs from agencies.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India Black Box Headed to US
The Centre will send the black box of the crashed Air India Boeing 787 aircraft to the US for analysis. The recorder sustained heavy external damage from the conflagration after the crash, making it impossible for local investigators to extract data, people aware of the development told ET. They said entries from the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) would be extracted in the Washington-based laboratory of the National Safety Transport Board. The data would be shared with India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Under international rules, the state of occurrence is responsible for the crash investigation. 'While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in New Delhi, it is not yet properly equipped to extract data from recorders that have sustained heavy damage,' said an official aware of the process. 'The NTSB team will carry them to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure proper protocols are followed,' the official said. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch will also be present, as 53 British citizens were among those killed in the June 12 crash. The Air India aircraft crashed seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 on board the aircraft and 33 on the ground. The two units — FDR and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) — are together called the black box. Painted bright orange, they are designed to survive extreme conditions and are located near the tail, which faces least impact during a crash. Notably, heavy damage is not common when an aircraft catches fire due to a crash. Black box data is crucial in probing the crash. FDR would give insights into multiple technical parameters, such as timing, altitude and airspeed. CVR holds crucial audio recordings from the cockpit, including pilot conversations and ambient noises, such as any warning message from the electronic systems. The official cited earlier said the time taken to extract data from the recorder could range from two days to months, depending on the extent of the damage. 'Since the recorder has been damaged, the chip will need to be extracted by removing the memory board so there is no further damage to data. The electronic circuit will have to be assessed for damage,' he said. Investigators are examining multiple possibilities — whether the flaps on the ill-fated aircraft's wings were properly extended, and why its landing gear was down. They are looking at failure of the electronic systems, or fuel contamination, both of which could potentially have caused the engines to shut down. Air crashes are caused by multiple failures and early hypotheses are often ruled out in course of lengthy and technical investigations. The 787, like any modern aircraft, has been built with multiple redundancies, meaning there are duplications of critical components or systems to enhance reliability and make the aircraft failsafe. For instance, the plane has demonstrated capability to fly for 345 minutes with a single engine, as well as numerous system failures.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Unusual bird activity poses threat to flight movements at Pune airport
1 2 3 Pune: An unusual presence of birds sighted in the airspace and near the runway at Lohegaon airport on June 5 forced the air traffic control to divert a Pune-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi to Surat minutes before touchdown. On May 20, it was a nightmare for passengers on board a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo aircraft as they were made to sit for six hours while the ATC was waiting for the runway to be cleared of winged guests and also to allow some defence-related work to complete before signalling a take-off. Two incidents in two months paint a grim picture of the aircraft's growing vulnerability to unusual bird movements. Aviation experts have blamed the mushrooming eateries, commercial establishments, and high-rises surrounding the Pune airport compound, part of an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, and the unattended piles of garbage on their premises for the increasing bird activity. "Permission for constructions could be according to norms, but additional storeys are coming up and monitoring is minimal. Lohegaon is a frontline IAF base set up during the second world war and was once secluded. It is only during operations such as Sindoor that one realises the importance of these bases," Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retired) said, adding that the focus should be on developing the new airport in Purandar. Former airport director Deepak Shastri said no concrete steps are being taken to control encroachments and constructions around the airport. "There is an aerodrome environment management committee consisting of all stakeholders including the civic body. It has to meet periodically and find solutions to problems like garbage. The airport authorities need to tell us when the last meeting was held and what came out of that meeting?" These bird-related incidents might not be happening due to construction activities but because of improper garbage management by the establishments in and around the airport including in Vimannagar, said PMC commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. "The issue has come to my attention and I am going to hold a meeting soon to find out what more can be done to control the problem." Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's waste management department, however, claimed that garbage is lifted every day, and the focus is to ensure that it does not get accumulated. "An awareness campaign to sensitise people not to throw leftover foods in open areas near the airport will soon be undertaken," he said. Ornithologist Satish Pande, founder of Ela Foundation, told TOI that scavenging birds like crows, pigeons, kites and herons fly low and they run into a flight approaching an airport. "Many of the Indian airports, including in Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, are surrounded by human habitation. We all know that garbage collection is a problem, and they lure these birds. Nowadays, aircraft engines are designed to ingest a bird up to a certain size, but a flock can cause serious damage," he said. Captain Arpit Manshani, who flies airplanes and choppers, said bird hits can range from no impact to bringing down a huge jet in the Hudson (in 2009). "We need to understand if the bird hit was big or small; where it hit — windshield, engine intake, rotor blade of helicopter or wing of airplane. Was it a flock of birds or just a single? What phase of flight were you in? Did it happen during take-off, landing, or cruising? What is the extent of damage — can you see it physically, did you hear an unusual sound, or any of the flight parameters is off. The critical thing is decision making by the pilots — from being vigilant about birds to avoiding them at the last second to taking right action after analysing the strike," he said. The IAF campus is spread over 3,200 acres and the perimeter wall is shared by Lohegaon and Wagholi areas. Last week's flight diversion prompted the IAF, which manages the runway and the ATC tower, to set up a bird-scraping squad among a series of measures. However, ornithologist Pande said one needs to take wildlife hazard management seriously. "There are high rises near airports and pigeons naturally perceive them as their nesting sites. Unfortunately, authorities take a casual approach while hiring people to mitigate the bird menace." Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said, "The runway is managed by the IAF and they have been taking measures to keep it clear of bird movements. We are constantly coordinating with the PMC regarding different issues related to keeping the areas near the airport compound clean." A study published by Salim Ali Centre for Orthinology and Natural History on 'Best Practices for the Mitigation of the Hazards Posed by Birds to Aircraft' has recommended that buildings near airports be covered with bird proofing barriers. Sewerage treatment plants or open canals passing through the airfield should be completely covered, and water flows associated with irrigation and open stagnant water should be prevented. Feeding of birds by people within a two-km radius of the airport should be discouraged, the report said.
